


I Won't Say Goodbye.

by PrincessAuroraSnow



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: 2x21 break-it fic, Angst, Angst Aplenty, F/M, Not for the faint of heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-12
Updated: 2018-05-12
Packaged: 2019-05-05 20:09:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14626139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrincessAuroraSnow/pseuds/PrincessAuroraSnow
Summary: What would happen if Jughead really died in the finale.





	I Won't Say Goodbye.

**Author's Note:**

> I apologize.

Betty didn’t want to believe it, but Jughead Jones was dead. His lifeless body was brought to her by FP. As soon as Jughead was safely on the ground again in front of Betty and Archie, FP completely broke down. It was horrific to see a grown man reduced to a mess of sobs and screams. 

Archie checked Jughead’s pulse just to be sure he was really gone, and after he realized that there was nothing there, he seemed at a loss for what to do. In his mind he was thinking rapidly, is it too late, should I go get help, should I do something about his dad, should I do something about Betty? Always a man of actions more then words, Archie rammed his fist into the nearest solid thing he could find and continued until it bled. Even then he didn’t stop, the pain was nothing to him. Was it even there? Was this even real? He stopped every now and then to wipe his nose, but, honestly, he wanted to break his hand again, just to see if it was real.

Sweet Pea tried and failed to calm FP down, tried to get him to look away from the body. But his attempts just made him scream more.

Toni couldn’t believe what was happening. How could he be dead, he had just saved her a few hours ago? How could he be dead? She heaved and tried to keep from throwing up. When that failed, Cheryl held her hair. Why had she agreed to go to war with the Ghoulies? Why didn’t she agree with him, why didn’t she follow him out of the Wyrm? Why wasn’t she next to him when he fought. Why wasn’t she next to him now?

Betty felt a wide range of emotions wash over, the most prominent was doubt. She had completely lost her mind, this was all in her head, and Jughead would be there to visit her at the Sisters of Quiet Mercy or wherever she was sent off to.

Next was just an intense wave of feeling that this was real. That tomorrow when she woke up, Jughead would still be gone. She reached her fingers towards the spot where his tattoo used to be. She was going to get one just like it, she had told him. Not even to be a member of Serpents, but just because she wanted to match with him. She had wanted to be the same.

She felt Cheryl’s hand touch her arm, she jerked away from her touch, knowing she meant to take her away from him.

“No,” Betty said, “I’m not leaving him.”

“Betty, I called the police and they’re gonna be here soon with some doctors,” Cheryl said.

“Good, they can fix him,” the words tasted like sand in her mouth.

“Betty, he’s gone,” Cheryl replied.

The noise of FP had quieted down, only because he was now hoarse, and Sweet Pea had managed to coax Archie away from the pole. Now, Archie sat silent in the dirt, completely still.

“No, Cheryl, this isn’t… this isn’t real,” Betty stuttered, “Jughead is fine, he’s not here, I’m not here. This is all in my head. You.. you’re not real, all of this is fake.”

Cheryl reached for her cousin’s hand but said nothing. They all sat wordlessly, waiting for the police.

A few minutes later Sheriff Keller arrived, along with Fred, Alice, and Veronica. They all took a moment to take in the sight before him. Six people sitting motionlessly on the ground, and Jughead, laying on his back, disfigured and dead.

Sheriff Keller went to go check on Jughead’s body and FP. Fred and Veronica went to see Archie, and Alice went to Betty. Cheryl left to go sit by Toni.

“Mom? Why doesn’t it end, why does it keep going?” Betty asked her mother.

“Why doesn’t what end, Betty?” Alice asked.

“This,” she said, waving her hand around, “ When I am I going to wake up?”

Alice said nothing, just held her daughter close.

Archie broke down the moment he saw his father, the tears finally running down his face. Fred and Veronica held him and tried to cover his wound as best they could.

But Betty’s face remained clean, she patiently waited for her nightmare to end. She had screamed at them when they tried to take Jughead’s body away, reaching for his hand. Only grazing his wound, and getting blood all over her hand. He felt extremely cold. 

FP traveled immediately back to the Wyrm, hoping once again to lose or maybe find himself at the bottom of the bottle. He drank himself to death two years later.

Archie and Betty went their separate ways. He had hugged her for over 25 minutes, and Betty was starting to get frustrated at how long this dream was going on for.

Betty and Alice entered their house, but neither felt any relief to be “home,” a few hours ago they were both threatened in their living room.

They sat on Alice’s bed all night together, neither fell asleep that night.

~~~

They held Jughead’s funeral a week later.

Betty still hadn’t shed a tear and was amazed at how detailed her nightmare was. She remembered every painfully slow minute.

It was a small private funeral, not many people came.

Sweet Pea refused, saying he had no right. 

No one knew how to contact Jellybean or Gladys Jones.

FP was in a drunken stupor the day of the funeral and had refused to go even during his slight moments of sobriety.

The Andrews, The Coopers, The Kellers, Veronica, Cheryl, and Toni were the only guests.

The service was short, Archie held Betty’s hand through the whole thing, mostly for himself, and Veronica switched between standing by Betty and standing by Archie. The adults stayed on the sidelines, while Kevin, Cheryl, and Toni stood across from the three of them.

The moment Jughead’s coffin hit the ground, Betty screamed.

Archie held her hand tighter, and Veronica moved to shield Betty from the grave.

Alice rushed to her daughter’s side and wrapped her arms around her.

“Mom, can you make it stop? Can you make it end? Please, I want to wake up. I want to see his smile again. Mom, please wake me up,” Betty cried, falling to her knees.

“Shh, baby, let it all out, I’ve got you,” Alice said, stroking her hair.

“No, Mom, “ Betty said, jerking from her grasp, “I want to wake up. Please, this isn’t real, it’s not, it’s not.”

“Betty, it is. It’s real, he’s gone.”

 

“But he was supposed to hold my hand while I got a tattoo, one just like his, you know,” Betty said, trembling, “And he promised to take me to prom, even though it wasn’t his thing. And we were going to drive somewhere nice and picturesque and have a picnic.”

Everyone else moved to give the mother and daughter some space.

“This summer, the four of us, we were gonna go down to the beach, or Veronica’s parent’s lake cabin again. He promised to go with me to see Polly and the twins. He promised, Mom.”

“I know, sweetie.”

“No, you don’t. We were supposed to hop on his motorcycle and get away from Riverdale. All the serial killers and the drug dealers. We were going to get married, we never talked about it, but I always hoped so. We were gonna go to college in New York, and then we were supposed to settle down. He was supposed to finish his book, we were supposed to both become journalists.”

Alice said nothing, just tried to hold her daughter close again.

“We said “Like Romeo and Juliet,” Jughead! “Except we live happily ever after instead!” You call this happily ever after, you idiot!” Betty screamed at the grave, “Why did you go after them all by yourself? Why didn’t you let me stop you? You fucking idiot, I hate you? Didn’t we say we weren’t going to break up again? Why did you do such a stupid thing!”

Betty screamed and cried until she was hoarse, but she still tried. Her mother rocked her and tried her best to calm her down.

The two of them sat in the cemetery until nightfall. Even though Betty wasn’t crying anymore, she refused to say goodbye.

“I won’t say goodbye to him, Mom.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come find me on tumblr @elizabethjonesiii, if you have a question or you want to yell at me. Comments are always nice too. <3


End file.
